After four years of preparation, the Austrian Railway Cultural Association hosted the FISAIC Festival in Wels from 7 – 9 September 2018.

Around 1000 people representing both 10 different artistic, cultural and technical activities and national railway companies from 20 European countries took part in the unique FISAIC Festival.

The many concerts and performances all over Wels during the three days came to a Grand Finale on Sunday: a spectacular parade through the city centre after a public open-air ecumenical harvest service.

Five non-Austrian railway orchestras, nine railway music bands from Austria, nine choirs and five folklore groups took part in the festival. In addition, five model railway groups, photo clubs, film and video groups, visual arts, amateur radio groups as well as the philatelic FERPHILEX stamp exhibition (rail stamp exhibition with special stamps, a significant exchange day for collectors) and Esperanto participants, all together over 1000 participants in more than 50 groups from 20 European countries.

The FISAIC Festival was chaired by Deputy President General Mr Kurt Neuwirth (Chairman of Austrian Railway Cultural Association) and the main partners became both Austrian Federal Railways Co. (ÖBB) and Railway Trade Unions VIDA.

FISAIC is the Federation of Railwaymen for Culture and Leisure. FISAIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UIC on 1 December 2016. FISAIC aims to promote and support the cultural activities of railway personal of all nations in their leisure time, to establish relations among the creative railway personal of the national associations and unions in order to organise cultural events and contribute to the development of cultural motivation and activities. The international FISAIC cultural organisation was founded in Strasbourg in 1952.